Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Political cartoon in the Columbia Daily Tribune is an example of lazy journalism

I wasn’t surprised when the Columbia Daily Tribune, my
hometown newspaper, printed a political cartoon that many deem cruel and
racist. It simply reflects the news culture in Columbia, Missouri, a town only
117 miles from Ferguson, Missouri.

The cartoon portrays protestors in Ferguson holding signs
that read “Burn Ferguson”, “No 60” Plasma TV, No Peace”, and “Steal to Honor
Michael Brown.” The cartoon appeared during the peak of tension between
protestors and law enforcement.During those
stressful days in Ferguson, some looted, and officials reported witnessing
protestors throw Molotov cocktails.

The news cycle was replete with tails of violence among
protestors, and numerous news sources focused on this aspect of the story. Many
wondered why reporters failed to dig deeper into the root causes of rage among
protestors, and inquired into why law enforcement employed military tactics to
control peaceful protest.

The Columbia Daily Tribunes decision to stress the looting
and burning angle represents the type of lazy journalism that has obstructed
the reporting of this story.The cartoon
communicates what is felt by many readers – that the protests in Ferguson made
looting the primary agenda. This slant is imbedded in the perception of readers
already guided by stereotyping that makes it difficult to concede the concerns
of those protesting in Ferguson.

This story is, at the core, a reminder of how race and
perceptions related to racism can significantly impact judgment.The editors at the Tribune failed their
readers by poking fun at a minor slice within an extraordinarily complex story.
The reporting on Ferguson, as with all stories, should be placed within both a
historical and contemporary context.Newspapers are responsible in getting the story right when those
witnessing from the outside become engrossed by their assumptions.

I call this form of reporting lazy due to its readiness in declaring
the message of the status quo.Lazy
journalism follows the line of what others report.The national news media was quick to endorse
the stance of law enforcement in reporting related to looting and the launching
of Molotov cocktails.Many among the
protestors have reported a different story – that water bottles were thrown,
that many of the attacks were initiated by law enforcement, and that looters
were outsiders who came under attack by peaceful protestors.

Credible journalism struggles with assumptions, and seeks to
get at the why behind the what.The Columbia
Tribune missed the mark by failing to report on the ground.The paper’s error isn’t as much about
printing the cartoon – something papers in other states may have done – but relates
more to failing to take the story seriously by having their own reporters
present.

As a paper located in Missouri, The Columbia Tribune owns responsibility
in reporting on the Ferguson story.The
paper owes the community reporting that places the story within a communal
context.The lazy approach is to pull
news from the wire service, seek a few local angles, and feed readers a
localized version of what is being reported by national news outlets.

I expect more from my hometown paper.Sadly, the Columbia Tribune isn’t positioned
to engage in a high level of reporting related to questions involving
race.Pondering the implications of race
and racism are low on the Columbia Tribune’s agenda, which reflects Missouri’s
culture of running and hiding from stories about race.

Jim Robertson, managing editor, and the staff at the Columbia
Tribune, had no intention in communicating a racist agenda.Their lack of sensitivity is not a variable
of a mean intended attack on black people.It does speak to how assumptions of privilege show up when race fails to
become a priority in how we report the news.You can’t blame Robertson for not knowing the cartoon would be read as
offensive.You can blame Robertson, and
the Columbia Daily Tribune, for failing to employ people with keen insight into
that culture.

This is what happens when black people are absent.It’s what happened in Ferguson, Missouri.Sadly, it’s happening in Columbia, Missouri.
We fail to see it due to the way matters related to race is addressed in
Missouri.

1 comment:

I was pastor of Secind Baptist Church in Columbia from 1957 to 1959.The community was segregated and black businesses had only a block that was pejoratively called sharp end. Protest was absent in a domesticated passive Black Community..Little Dixie is alive and well in Missouri. j alhred smith sr.

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina